Delhi: Couple arrested for snatching phone in South Campus

Police said the couple had got married four months ago. Police said the two chose to snatch cell phones and earn easy money. The two had used a scooter to snatch a woman’s cell phone from South Campus area on December 23

A 26-year-old man and his 23-year-old wife, who have no history of crime, have been arrested in a case of snatching, Delhi Police said on Tuesday.

Snatching is the one of the most common crimes across the city.

Police said the couple had got married four months ago. During their interrogation, the two said they come from a lower income level background and were struggling to make ends meet. Police said the two chose to snatch cell phones and earn easy money. The two had used a scooter to snatch a woman’s cell phone from South Campus area on December 23. Police identified the man Gaurav Malhotra. Police did not reveal his wife’s identity.

Snatching is the one of the most common crimes across the city. Infact records of people arrested for snatching show that snatching is also the first gateway crime for most would be criminals.

An HT analysis of the profile of snatchers arrested in Delhi between 2018 and 2020 shows that more than 90% of those arrested were caught for the first time, and did not have any criminal record until then. Police registered them as “first-time offenders”. Of the 6,496 people arrested in 2020, at least 5,977 (92.98%) were first-time offenders. In 2019, of the 5,243 arrested, this number was 4,806 (91.66%), and in 2018, 5,167 out of the 5,346 people (96.66%) arrested for snatching had no past record.

First time offenders in police records are suspects such as Gaurav, who do not have a even a single criminal case against their name.

Deputy commissioner of police(South West) Gaurav Sharma said, “During interrogation, they said they had got married around 4 months ago. Their family are from low-income group and his father is a butcher. They wish to live lavish life. On that day, his wife demanded an android phone so they were in search of some passersby using mobile phone. They noticed the complainant and snatched mobile phone and run away from the spot.”